Hard to Digest (Sentence to Story #14)

“You ate how many hot dogs?”

Jeannie answered, “Twelve.”

The boys sitting around her at the lunch table stared with a mixture of disbelief and awe.

“There’s no way,” Brady said, looking Jeannie up and down. “You couldn’t hold down that many hot dogs.” Monty and Pete shook their heads in agreement. Brady started again, “There is no way you ate twelve, real size, on the bun, hot dogs in…”

“I’m telling you,” Jeannie interrupted, eyes wide open to drive home the point, “I ate twelve, real size, on the bun, in front of people, hot dogs in five minutes.”

Week after week, lunch break upon lunch break, all Jeannie had heard about was how many mayonnaise packets Monty had downed or how many goldfish crackers Pete had crammed in his mouth. Boys and their stupid dares.

“Prove it!” Brady said, folding his arms. The other two smirked, assuming victory.

Jeannie smiled and pulled out her phone. She took her time, letting the boys wonder for a few seconds.

“Just in case you needed more proof,” she said, turning the phone around. The boys clamored for it.

“No way?!” Monty screamed.

“Well get out of way, lard butt, and let me see,” Pete said, trying to push his way in. Brady stood next to them, peering over their shoulder.

Jeannie flipped her hair back over her shoulder. No girl at Rosemont Middle had ever – ever – felt the pride she felt as the boys in front of her ogled over the picture of her, standing in front of Vinny’s Famous Hot Dogs and Fries. The shirt she had on in the picture was neon green and had printed, ‘Winner – Junior Division.’ The hand written sign she was holding read:

Total Dogs = 12Total Time = 4 minutes and 58 secondsNEW RECORD!!!

All three of the boys looked up from the picture in unison. Brady held the phone loosely in his hand, which Jeannie gently reached over and took back.

“I would have wore the shirt in person, but I didn’t want to rub it in,” she said, turning to walk away.

First sentence of this story submitted by Gavin T. It received the second most votes for sentences submitted the week of October 8, 2012. Please leave comments below on if you liked the direction I took the story, or if you would have personally went a different way. I would love to know!